The Sept 1986 advertisement said $800 for a gelding. Upon arrival, I was escorted to his corral which was knee deep in mud and filth. A registered, linebred Three Bars, ex-racing quarterhorse gelding (pedigree) stood there looking back at me. He was starved, roped burned, and so lame he could barely walk.

Jazz was being fed straw like hay and no grain *because he wasn't being worked* (according to the previous owner.) Also stated by the owner was the *stupid horse kept getting tangled up* and they were unhappy about the vet bill. Jazz had not had a follow up visit by the vet, and the week old bandage covering the knee wound was oozing pus and serum. When I first walked into the muddy corral, it smelled like a rotting carcass had been dumped in there. To my horror, it was the horse. We made a deal to purchase him for a small amount of money, not knowing if he would survive his ordeal. It took all his strength to just make the small step up into the trailer.

Have you hugged your horse today?

Poems and stories others share with us, some about the special horses in their lives.

A Poem for the Dying: a five kleenex poem
When I Am Old: Poem
Horses in Heaven: wonderful old story
One Chance in a Million: Poem in memory of a friend
Pixie: the 3-legged pony
JT's Horse Project

AN EQUINE RESCUE STORY

Jazz had full skin thickness rope burns from being staked to trees with polypro rope. When he became tangled, it cut him like a knife. In addition to the rope burns, he had damaged cartiledge on his nose, a dislocated splint bone in his left rear, damaged pasterns in both rears, and skin ulcers from wearing a dirty canvas blanket. When the owner saw my disgusted look, and as I peeled chunks of scabs and mud off the horse, she went to her porch and brought back a toilet brush to use on him. I decided then and there, this well bred walking skeleton could *not* be allowed to suffer at this place anymore.

Jazz as head babysitter and boss of his small crew of loyal appaloosas.

Jazz with one of his handicapped riders in the Alpine Alternatives program in Palmer.

Below, Jazz after 9 months of intensive care shows the blue blood that was under the scraggly hide of the starving horse in the filthy corral. He's a handsome gentleman that has participated for several years in our local handicapped riding program, won a few NATRC rides, and is now semi- retired, spending time as head appy foal babysitter and master of his small herd.
At the young age of 18, he suffers from arthritis of the back caused by racing as 2 and 3 year old, that limits his use under saddle, although he still loves to get out on the trails. Jazz has been a wonderful companion that fell into my life, and he will spend the rest of his days on our little farm.

Jazz's story was published in a local horse magazine. To read that more detailed account, click here.

UPDATE: Jazz was put down by the vet October of 07. His back had deteriorated the year before and he had lost partial use of his left hind leg. His will to live was very strong, but we knew we would not be able to safely get him through another winter especially since he could not stand for the farrier anymore without a sling holding him up. He's buried in his pasture, in his favorite spot where he used to stand watch the rest of his world. He made it 26 1/2 years old, much longer than I thought I would ever have him. He took a big piece of my heart with him.

For more pictures of other rescued horses, click here.

---

Protect your contributions! Check out whether an organization is truly non-profit by going to this web site: Internet Nonprofit Center. The Nonprofit Locater allows you to find any nonprofit organization that has been recognized as tax exempt by the Internal Revenue Service. It searches a database of over 1 million such tax exempt entities. There are many different categories of tax-exempt organizations defined by the Internation Revenue Code, including the familar 501(c)(3) public charities and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, so the list of organizations you can search here includes many other types as well.

---

Nat'l Equine Disaster Relief: emergency relief pages
Alaska Equine Rescue
Arabian Horse Rescue Network

Rescue Links
Equine Rescue Net
Calif Standardbred Rescue
Equine Designs Horse Rescue Page
Therapeutic Riding Programs
Equine Placement Network
Pegasus Foundation:retirement and rehabilitation farm
Avalon Rose Farm
Icehorse Rescue:Iclandic Horses

Back to moosewood Farm

Sign My Guestbook   View My Guestbook